At least three AACC professors are leading double lives: as faculty members by day and as politicians after school.

Dr. Darian Senn-Carter, an associate professor with AACC’s Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Institute, is the latest to take his oath of office. He was sworn in as a member of the Bowie City Council on Feb. 19 to represent the city’s 3rd District.

“I see it as a way for me to deepen my impact in the community, to get more involved [in] ways to improve the community that I love,” Senn-Carter said.

At least two other faculty members also hold political offices.

History professor Frank Alduino is an elected member of the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee.

“I have been interested in politics for a very long period of time,” Alduino said. “[My wife and I] live in a very Republican, ultra-red district. Both myself and my wife became energized … with the election of [President Donald] Trump. We joined the Democratic club … and we became very, very active in the last campaign. [We] basically became involved in helping to change this bright red district … to blue or at least maybe purple.”

Neumann said she got involved with her community civic association because it seemed like a good way for her to invest in her neighborhood.

The part-time politicians said they don’t find it difficult to balance the work they do on campus with the time they spend on their community jobs.

“It’s really just a great opportunity for me to apply a lot of the skills that apply here at the college … to a different setting,” Senn-Carter said. Political work, he said, helped him “gain a different insight; to have a different perspective … because I am passionate about the work … and I care so … deeply about [it]. But I don’t see it as difficult to balance” school and politics.

Alduino said after 33 years of teaching at the college level, “you have an opportunity to compartmentalize … but I have other activities as well and one of them is my involvement in politics. It is time consuming and besides the meetings, there’s committees that we serve on, there’s community outreach that we do … [but] it doesn’t interfere with what I do here.”

Senn-Carter accepted an appointment to the Bowie City Council after Councilmember Courtney Glass resigned in December for health reasons. Senn-Carter said he plans to run for election in November with the hope of filling the seat for another term.

“I am excited about the opportunity to really get out into the district, to hear the perspective of the residents, to hear their concerns, to hear their ideas, to help shape what we do in the city,” Senn-Carter said.

Alduino said he encourages other faculty members to run for political office.

“I think that’s important because it gives faculty … representation on these levels of government that impact their lives,” Alduino said.